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Police: No danger to Jaffrey students after threat

JAFFREY — Officials say people at Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School and Conant High School are safe despite fears in the community that a student had made a threat against the schools.

Police said they confirmed the threat was not directed at the schools, but rather against one or more students in Jaffrey, according to Police Chief William J. Oswalt. And police did not find any indication that the student who made the threat against other students intended to act on it, Oswalt said.

The threat is still under investigation, and no charges have been filed, the chief said.

According to a letter sent to parents Monday and shared with The Sentinel by the school district, Superintendent Reuben D. Duncan received inquiries from parents Saturday morning about students’ concerns that “an individual was going to come to the middle/high school and perform an act of violence.”

Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School and Conant High School are adjacent in Jaffrey.

According to Duncan, Jaffrey police interviewed the person identified in connection with the alleged threat, along with that person’s parent.

“(Police) investigated the alleged threat thoroughly and are confident that the situation has been mitigated,” the letter reads. “A generalized threat to the entire school has not been substantiated at this time.”

Police began investigating mid-week last week after rumors began to surface about a threat, according to Oswalt. He said social media played a large role.

“It’s something that rightfully we should watch very carefully,” Oswalt said. “We just want to caution people to be mindful of what they hear and where they hear it from and use reliable sources of information before forming opinions about what’s going on.”

The department stationed police at the schools Monday morning to reassure parents and students that they are monitoring the situation, Oswalt said. Duncan’s letter noted that there may be a continued police presence at the schools throughout the week. The person police interviewed in connection with the concerns was not in school Monday, according to the letter.

“We feel we’ve taken every reasonable step and are confident that we have addressed the situation in such a way that the school staff and students are safe,” Oswalt said.

Duncan was not immediately available to provide more information, but a post on the district’s Facebook page Monday night said the district planned to hold an assembly for middle and high school students this morning to share information “regarding events of the past week.” The district said in its post that it will hold an informational meeting for community members to voice their concerns tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the high school music room.